Boom!
Upon hearing these three words, everyone fell silent, looking at each other in disbelief.
Zhang Wenxue and his wife were too shocked to speak. They had thought their second son had only come home to see them, not to target their youngest son.
How could he be so foolish?
He had destroyed the village's preserved vegetable factory. Now the entire village would curse him to death. Who would ever associate with him again?
"Wasn't he locked up? How could it be him?"
"That's right. Baldy might be talking nonsense. How could Liu Xing, while in prison, have done this?"
"Exactly, he can't get out, so he couldn't have instructed Baldy."
"This must be Baldy's excuse to get off the hook."
"..."
Everyone didn't believe Zhang Liuxing was the mastermind behind this, mainly because Zhang Liuxing was not released.
But Zhang Wenxue and his wife knew whether their son had returned, so they hung their heads in silence.
"Let's not talk about this matter. We should discuss how to get the factory back to production as soon as possible.
Last year, we planned to resume work on the fifth day of the Lunar New Year. Now that all the equipment and raw materials are destroyed, we will definitely have to wait until after the Lantern Festival to purchase new raw materials and equipment."
Many jobs in the preserved vegetable factory now relied on equipment. With the equipment destroyed, they would have to wait until after the Lantern Festival to buy new equipment, as only then would the machinery factory open.
Upon hearing this, Zhao Zhijie suddenly spoke up, "If you are concerned about not being able to purchase equipment during the New Year holiday, Lao Yan and I can help. Although Datang County only has one machinery factory, there are other machinery factories in the southern city.
Several of them have had dealings with us in the past. Although we are all retired factory directors, we still have some connections."
Zhang Liunian smiled upon hearing this, "Uncle Zhao, we really need your help with the equipment, but there's nothing that can be done about the raw materials."
If he had his own raw materials, he wouldn't have to worry, but he didn't. All raw materials had to be purchased.
Furthermore, due to the large quantities and variety he required, it was usually not easy to purchase them all comprehensively, so the resumption of work might still be delayed.
"I can't help you with that, but there's someone who can. Her name is Fang Yan, the factory director of the Southern City Food Factory. Her raw materials are the most complete in the entire Southern City. If you're in a hurry, you can get some from her to use temporarily, and buy them later."
Zhao Zhijie had learned about the situations of various factories in the southern city during his time there. Naturally, the Southern City Food Factory was a key target for his research.
In his opinion, the Southern City Food Factory surely had what Zhang Liunian needed, it just depended on whether they were willing to give it.
Zhang Liunian's eyes lit up when he heard this. This was indeed a good idea.
"My Uncle Zhao is truly amazing. I hadn't even thought of this. I'll go find Fang Yan tomorrow to try. If she's willing to sell me the raw materials, then resuming work on the fifth day of the Lunar New Year will not be a problem." Zhang Liunian looked at Zhao Zhijie gratefully, truly feeling that knowing this uncle was incredibly worthwhile.
Everyone else looked at Zhao Zhijie with extreme admiration, as he had solved the preserved vegetable factory's problems in just a few words.
"Liu Nian's uncle is very capable!"
Zhao Zhijie greatly enjoyed the admiring gazes of everyone, and at the same time, felt it was wonderful that he could help his god-nephew.
"The factory has been cleaned up, and the holes have been repaired. It's a pity about the scrapped equipment, though. I don't know how to deal with it," Zhang Shan spoke at the opportune moment, reporting the situation of the preserved vegetable factory.
Zhang Liunian nodded upon hearing this, "Later, have the machinery factory handle all these useless equipment. Sell them for whatever they're worth."
Zhang Liunian had rented many of the equipment. Now that the equipment was smashed and unusable, he naturally had to compensate.
Zhang Shan nodded, then proactively offered, "Liunian, this accident was due to my negligence, and I caused the factory to suffer heavy losses. Therefore, I want to repay this debt with my labor."
Of course, Zhang Liunian would not let Zhang Shan go unpunished. This accident occurred because he had sent the gatekeeper home for the New Year. He definitely had to punish him.
"Your responsibility in this accident is immense. I am directly demoting you to deputy factory director and will deduct a year's salary as a lesson.
If such a thing happens again, you don't need to work at the factory anymore."
Zhang Liunian would not allow him to make the same mistake again, as this mistake had cost him hundreds of thousands. He did not want to see it happen again.
"Ten years is better than one. I know you lost hundreds of thousands this time, and Baldy's family certainly can't afford to pay. I'm willing to work for free for ten years."
Zhang Shan was somewhat moved. He hadn't received a very severe punishment.
However, he believed he had made a great mistake, and he was willing to work for Zhang Liunian for free for ten years without any regrets.
This was the first time Zhang Liunian had heard of someone voluntarily offering to work for free. He looked at Zhang Shan a few times, seeing that he was serious and not lying, and said, "You have a family too. You can't always be without income. You need to live, and so do your family members."
"It's alright with me. My son also works at the factory. Even if I don't have a salary, my family can live well. Just ten years. If you don't agree, I'll work for you for free for my entire life. I'll give you my life." Zhang Shan said, as if he wanted to pull out his life and give it to Zhang Liunian.
"No..."
Zhang Liunian was about to refuse, but Zhang Hao interrupted, "Liunian, I know you are kind to our villagers and don't want Shanzi to work for free. But he did make a mistake this time. Just do as he says and let him work for ten years.
His family is quite well-off. There are ten people in his family, and four of them work in your factory. They are living well!"
"..."
Zhang Liunian was speechless. Just as he was about to speak, he was interrupted by Zhang Laoshi.
"Liunian, proceed with the ten-year plan. If we also make such a mistake, you should punish us with the same standard. We can't relax the punishment just because we are villagers."
Now, what else could Zhang Liunian say?
Ten years was the minimum!
After punishing Zhang Shan, the gatekeeper was also fined half a month's salary by Zhang Liunian.
The group chatted for another hour, and then Zhang Liunian stood up to dismiss everyone, "There's nothing else. Everyone go home and rest quickly!"
Everyone, having been busy all day, was also tired and bid farewell to Zhang Liunian as they left.
Zhang Wenxue and his wife stayed until the end, unwilling to leave.
Zhang Liunian, sensing they had something to say, did not drive them away.
After everyone had gone further, Zhang Wenxue asked, "Did Baldy really do this because he was following the second child's orders?"
Zhang Liunian nodded, "That two thousand yuan was given by him. There's no mistake."
"He finally got out. Why does he have to do these things instead of living a good life?" Zhang Wenxue, seeing his youngest son speaking seriously, believed him to some extent, but his heart felt even more sorrowful.
"You'd better be mentally prepared. I see he is determined to be my enemy until death." Zhang Liunian would not have said this sentence if he hadn't seen his parents treating him well at the moment.
Upon hearing this, Zhang Wenxue's old eyes reddened, and he was unable to speak for a long time.